The End Prelude
by The Mad Hatter Effect
Summary: Well, it looks like Dante had something unexpected to deal with. This could prove interesting, he decided... :: DantexOc VergilxOc co-written with XxMarch HarexX
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** Silver and I only own our Ocs and nothing more.

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><p>Teal eyes watched as the pair of girls wandered down the sidewalks. It was darkening out and many people had already retreated inside, away from the onslaught of mosquitoes, though several children and their parents or older siblings were still running amuck outside to catch that evening's batch of fireflies. The man with teal eyes had been searching for several months for that last of what he needed, and now he thought he found it...<p>

The first girl was the shorter of the two, with her brown hair cut so that the front was longer than the back but only by a about half an inch or so. She was dressed in a fancy button up black shirt with red trimming and a belt over the right shoulder and the sleeves were rolled up to her elbows. Dark brown cargo pants were rolled up into capris and had a belt dangling about the beck of her legs, hooked around her hips somewhere beneath the shirt. A messenger bag and black boots completed her outfit.

The one beside her, however, was the one that held his interest. She was a few inches taller than the first woman, with her blond hair hidden beneath a cat-eared hat, a pair of red goggles resting over it's bill and holding it snug to her head. A long sleeved jacket with blue-gray along the front adorned her torso and black capris and boots of her own finished off this ensemble. Her blond hair was longer at the sides, and framed her rounded face.

If his plans were to work, he would need her... but they were in the wrong place - but no matter. He could fix that easily, just like he had with the others. He just needed to get them in a place with no bystanders. Preferably alone, but he had learned in the last few days that one woman was often with the other, so if he had to send both, he would.

Their conversation grew louder as they came closer, the blonde's eyes darting around warily as the sky grew darker. Clearly she was the worrisome one of the two - the other seemed laidback and at ease, even in the darkening night.

"I'm tellin' ya you'll like this game," the brunette grinned, gesturing to the game case in the blonde's hands.

"I'm sure, Rekka," the blond chuckled, eyes still darting around and picking up on the strange blue-haired man having met her gaze. He smiled amicably at her before turning away. What kind of a man his age had blue hair? Much less hair that required one to pull it back in a ponytail to keep it out of the way? "You said I'd like Vergil best, right?"

She attempted to avert her gaze as they passed the strange man by glancing down at the game case. Devil May Cry 3 stared back at her as well as a silver-haired man in a red coat of sorts draping a large sword over his shoulder.

"Yep. Which is sad, 'cause I like him best, too." Rekka answered shooting the strange blue-haired man a raised brow as she met his gaze bypassing him. He smiled back at her, too, though made no other move. Rekka quickly turned back to the conversation, despite the man's strange hair coloring and choice in clothes. His outfit had had four furry white tails protruding from his pants...

"But I'll happily share him with, Lexia~!"

"Right..." Lexia chuckled. She would feel a whole lot better when they were inside her home and off of the streets. Rekka was planning to spend the night and help (or laugh at) Lexia as she played through the game for the first time.

Behind them the man followed, unnoticed. It wasn't any big deal to him if he was noticed or not. It would be a simple matter to get them where he needed them, but it was always less of a hassle if there weren't any passersby to worry about interferring.

"So what's the plotline like?" Lexia inquired next. It was often the two ended up in franchises with deep plotlines and lots of twists and surprises. She wouldn't be surprised if this was another of those.

"Really simple and straightforward. There aren't any real plot twists in this one that are too important," Rekka answers easily.

"Oh, well that's good!"

And thus the conversation continued as they headed to Lexia's home to play the game. All the while the strange man continued to follow almost lazily, as if he hadn't a care in the world. Several times he caught the one named Rekka shooting him cautious glances over her shoulder at him though she never outright turned and said or did anything.

So that woman was cautious, as well.

This could prove to be fun...

His smile quirked up further as he noted that no one was out now, the street lamps being the only things lighting their way (there was no moon that night). He began to utter strange words, mumblings under his breath as he quickened his pace. In order for this to work he needed her beside him.

Lexia gasped, shock running through her as a hand clamped down onto her shoulder tightly and unexpectedly. She jumped turning to stare at the man she had spotted earlier, the one with strangely colored hair for his age. He was still smiling as he had earlier and for some reason this worried Lexia.

"C-Can I help you?" she mustered out after a moment of shock, unable to walk forward as the man was holding her back.

"Oi, let her go," Rekka demanded rudely and her glare intensified as the man turned his gaze to her.

"I do not believe I can do that," he gave Rekka a light shove to her shoulder sending her tipping back slightly only for her to catch her balance moments later. Beneath their feet a dark marking was making it's imagery known as the seconds passed. It was a dark, arcane sort of circle - often associated with fantasy.

But why was it glowing and why was it there?

"What's going on?" Lexia shouted, a lump stuck in her throat as her heart beat wildly against her ribs. She didn't understand what was going on nor this man's apparent fascination with her. It figures, the creeper would want her!

"Nothing that you will need to worry about," came the man's calm answer, despite Lexia's obvious fear. In fact, he seemed to enjoy the fact that she was afraid.

"No, but _I'm_ what you need to worry about!" came Rekka's cocky answer and the man's smile finally slipped off of his face as he had to duck under a surprisingly high kick. For one who didn't stretch much the woman could sure kick high enough to aim for someone's face!

"Whatever you want, creep, ya gotta get through me first!"

"Why are you smirking about that?" Lexia cried out in dismay as she attempted to pull away from the man futilely - and indeed Rekka was smirking as she raised her hands, balled loosely into fists. The woman was even bouncing slightly on the balls of her feet excitedly. Did she really think she had a chance?

Knowing Rekka, the answer was a resounding 'yes.'

"What a nuisance," the man scoffed, running a thumb over his lip. His other hand was still tightly over Lexia's shoulder to the point where she was sure it was bruising. She winced. "But it's too late."

"Whatever!" cried out Rekka as she aimed a kick at the man's arm this time. This forced the man to let go of Lexia to avoid getting injured. Of course whatever would've happened next was interrupted abruptly by a blinding light from below. The markings had finished their preparation and had erupted in a bright light.

When it evaporated their surroundings were radically different and the man was nowhere in sight. Rekka was the first to peek her eyes open and glare around her - lowering her arm to do so having thrown it up to shield her eyes further. Lexia was much too nervous to do so just yet, the childish logic of 'if I can't see it it's not there' coming to mind with her actions.

Around them were tall buildings and bright neon lights - the average sight of cities. It was a drastic contrast to the sleepy town the two originated from and lived within. It was still nighttime, however, with the stars barely being visible amidst all the light pollution let off from the cities' lights. It was only natural that the two ended up in a dark alley, however.

"Well this is cliché!" Rekka scoffed, planting her hands on her hips as she did so, glaring around at their surroundings. "And where'd that bastard go?"

Lexia peered from around her fingers cautiously at this. It didn't seem as if anything was threatening them now, at least not by Rekka's scoffing. Her fear only doubled at the unfamiliar surroundings - she was one who didn't like not knowing things, and this definitely qualified.

She opened her mouth to speak to Rekka though no words came out. Brow furrowing she placed a hand to her throat curiously and opened her mouth to try again. The results were the same. What had happened to her voice?

Noticing the lack of a response Rekka glanced over her shoulder at Lexia to see the woman's confusion and fear. Rekka turned around fully, cocking her head to the side; "What's wrong, Lexia?"

Lexia furiously pointed to her throat, unable to answer verbally anymore. Confusion only made it's own appearance on Rekka's face as the second's stretched on.

"What is this? Charades?"

Lexia slumped heaving a silent sigh. It seemed Rekka couldn't understand what she was trying to say. No surprise, it was often the two over thought simple problems and answers, and without knowing what was wrong there was no way that Rekka could have a clear idea of what Lexia was trying to communicate to her.

Glancing up in exasperation Lexia's eyes widened which only caused Rekka's brow to furrow and her arms to fold over her chest.

"What?"

Lexia began to wildly gesture and point behind Rekka for several seconds. Behind her was a large creature, taller than Rekka and red in coloring. Strange white fur erupted around its neck and it shuffled about in a strange hopping manner as if hyperactive in nature. In it's hands it wielded a deadly scythe and was advancing on Rekka quickly.

"Hmmm?" Rekka finally turned, curious as to what had the now mute Lexia all riled up and worried. She stared at the advancing devil, recognizing it from the very game that she had bought for Lexia. It reared back the scythe in its hands, a strange sound as if it where cackling at her filled the air.

"Huh?"

And with that uttered into the air several things happened. Rekka grabbed the trash can nearest to her and threw it as the devil had begun to swing its deadly weapon down at her catching it by surprise and sparing her life - if only for a few minutes. Next Lexia had lunged forward, grabbing onto Rekka's messenger bag and tugging her backwards and away from the demonic creature and nearly sending the two toppling to the ground as Rekka was thrown off balance.

"Alright! Alright! I'm comin'!" Rekka snorted hurrying after Lexia. She couldn't just let Lexia run off without any protection. And to think, it was the one time Rekka didn't have a knife on her - not that it would do much good, honestly, but it would've made Rekka feel better...

Then again, running didn't sit well with her either...

Their progress to the main streets, however, was blocked by another cackling devil, this one a dark black with a hood up over it's skeletal features though it, too, held a scythe in its deformed hands. The two skidded to a halt with Rekka moving to shield Lexia, not that it would do much good and turning so that the blonde was between Rekka and the wall.

Rekka snorted, glaring back and forth between the two devils as they advanced slowly, as if relishing in their victory. "Tch! Bring it _on_!"

"Spunky, eh?" called out a familiar voice to Rekka, causing both girls to blink and turn to look at the newcomer as he strolled leisurely into the alleyway. Even the devils had stopped to stare curiously as if awed by the man's presence.

"Fun, fun~" chuckled the man, smirking as he twirled a black handgun around his finger expertly. His hair was a mess of white, shining in the light it could catch. He donned a large red coat that ended somewhere around his ankles and he dressed himself in dark clothes beneath that. "Mind if I cut in, sweetheart?"

"Uh... sure...?" Rekka mutters, caught off guard as her mind registered only one thing; Dante from the Devil May Cry series was standing before her in the flesh... Behind her, Lexia clutched Rekka's sleeves tightly, cowering behind the braver woman as she hid her face against the fight that took place. She was always the squeamish one of the two.

Dante was quick to shoot the first devil several times causing it to flinch back several steps as he advanced excitedly, his free hand reaching behind him to take a hold of his large sword's handle and swinging it down upon the devil's head reducing it to nothing but dust.

The second screeched jumping at Dante and swinging the scythe down though this was easily thwarted as the half devil deflected it and than slashed at the devil driving it back.

It's demonic screeching was painful to the ears and Rekka cringed slightly at it but forced herself to keep watching as Dante resumed his assault on it until it, too, was nothing but dust. In the lull of silence that followed he was quick to holster the sword and the firearm in his hand and roll his shoulders before turning to the two women, smirking and holding out a gloved hand.

"And how are you two doing?" came his charming inquiry.

Rekka held up a finger to signal one moment as Lexia peeked around her warily. She [Rekka] then placed a knuckle to her lip, her other hand on her hip as she brooded. Finally she spoke;

"What the hell is going on?"

Lexia nodded furiously behind her, also wishing to know what was happening around them and why they were here. Dante merely shrugged and stepped closer;

"Beats me, though it looks to me as if this is your first encounter with devils, huh?"

"You could say that. That doesn't explain shit, though."

"Oh, blunt, too. My kind a woman."

"Get to the point, moron."

"Well, well, looks like you're none-too-friendly. That's a downer."

It was here he stopped, his face growing serious as he noticed something about the woman who continually spoke to him (Lexia couldn't and thus didn't attempt to butt into the conversation - though Dante wasn't ware of her current mute status). Rekka had bright red eyes as she stared up at him, unabashed.

He only ever knew of demons having unnatural eye colors in human form... Though he couldn't rule out colored contacts now-a-days. The things were becoming popular and it was getting harder to tell who was human and who wasn't if the devil could hide their energies well enough from him.

"Tell me, lady, is that your natural eye color?"

"Why so serious?"

"Just answer the question, sweetheart."

"If you mean they're brown then yes."

Well, it looks like Dante had something unexpected to deal with. This could prove interesting, he decided...


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** Silver and I own nothing but the plot and the Ocs.

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><p>Not getting any straight answers in the alleyway Dante had been quick to offer taking the two women back to his 'shop' of sorts. Of course only Rekka would know what to expect of this 'shop' as Lexia had only heard bits and pieces about what his place looked like when she had been asking about the game from Rekka.<p>

"So, what are your names?" Dante speaks up, glancing over his shoulder to make sure the two didn't bolt. He couldn't bring himself to trust these women until things were straightened out. Not like they'd get far if they did try and run, however.

"It's customary to give one's own name first before asking a lady for her own." scoffed Rekka lightly. Dante 'tsk'ed turning to face forward once more as he stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"The name's Dante."

"I'm Rekka and this is Lexia."

Lexia gave a slight, nervous wave as Dante glanced back over to appraise the two once more. He vaguely wondered why this Lexia wasn't speaking, though he didn't dwell on it for too long as he continued to lead the two around the city's main streets where street lights, lamp posts and store signs kept everything adequately lit. Anything that attempted to attack them once again would easily be spotted before any attack could hit.

The rest of the walk was made in silence. It wasn't honestly that far a walk, anyways, Dante had received a call in the area a few days ago about demons terrorizing and killing any citizens they could at night and of course he had already been on the prowl for them. It was only now that he had come into the fray before anyone was killed or fatally injured.

Lexia was fidgeting nervously with her fingers as the shop was before finally them, a red neon sign reading 'Devil May Cry' and what was obviously the man's silhouette beside the word 'Cry.' Besides that it seemed like any of the other brick buildings around them, with two large windows on either side of the dark double doors. Up the steps they went with Dante lazily pushing his way inside with Rekka and Lexia following after.

Lexia's blue gaze took in everything about the 'shop' that she could. Several demon heads and weapons of all sorts hung along the walls or against them. A large wooden desk sat towards the back with an old-style telephone sitting atop it and a single picture frame amidst all the pizza boxes atop it. Several speakers, a dusty drum set, and a few unused guitars sat piled up in one corner while near that pile of mess was a pool table with green felt.

To the other side of the large room a metal staircase lead up to a loft of sorts, though it only took up the back left corner and shaded the area below it where two large red couches sat pushed against the walls in the corner around a small table.

It was a pretty bare room besides everything pushed to the sides, Lexia decided.

She quickly caught up with Rekka, wanting to stand near her friend in case anything unexpected happened again. She'd need to warn her without the use of her voice, after all, and being across the room from one another wouldn't help that. Dante had already taken a seat at the desk, propping his booted feet up onto the desk and tipping the chair back lazily.

"So, first thing's first, why doesn't the little lady over there want to speak?" Dante inquired, tilting his head to Lexia who smiled nervously. Rekka turned to glance at Lexia before answering;

"She's shy, I guess."

"Alright, fair enough. Care to explain, babe?"

"I'd like to if I knew what was going on myself."

"I see, so you don't have any idea as to why the demons were attacking you?"

"Other than they like to kill things, not a clue."

Dante snorted, not believing this in the slightest. He still had to get to the truth of her eyes, if she was a demon than it wouldn't be out of the question that she was lying about it.

"What color are your natural eyes?" Dante inquired again, folding his arms over his chest as he appraised Rekka for any hint of a lie. Confusion was apparent on her face as she tilted her head to the side curiously before answering;

"Brown, I told you that before."

It was here that Lexia began to tug on Rekka's sleeve vigorously causing Rekka to try and wave her away, intent on keeping the stare down with Dante going on. Dante's brow quirked at this, again Lexia wasn't speaking. Even if she was shy she would most likely be saying something by now to get her friend's attention, so why wasn't she?

"So you're wearing contacts, huh?" he inquired, however, still intent on getting information he needed first out in the open.

"I don't wear contacts..." came the slow, unsure answer as if wondering just what Dante was getting at. In fact she seemed unnerved now, as if she didn't know how to respond or if there was even a proper response.

This time Lexia tugged on Rekka's arm turning her around to face her fully. Rekka blinked in confusion several times, "Wha?"

Lexia's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open slightly as she stared at Rekka's eyes. Indeed, they were no longer a dark brown coloring, but a bright crimson. Honestly, it was an eye color Lexia would expect to see from a Final Fantasy or Disgaea game, not on her friend.

Lexia began to gesture repeatedly at Rekka's eyes and then to her own. It was the only way she could get any idea to communicate what she was attempting to say. Rekka tilted her head to the side again, arms folded over her chest and a confused look on her face.

"What? Can't ya just spit it out, chica?"

Lexia slumped, defeated as she let out a gust of wind for a sigh.

"Gotta take a dump or something?" came Dante's less than polite assumption. Lexia's face grew bright red at this assumption as she stuck her tongue out at the man and Rekka snorted in amusement. It was then that she spotted a battered and dirty sharpie amidst the debris on his desk...

Her face brightened and she lunged for the marker and an emptied pizza box. This action caused Rekka to blink curiously and for Dante's hand to jerk towards his firearm before settling down. She began to scribble something hurriedly down on an emptied spot on the cardboard before holding it up for Rekka to read, which she did so under her breath.

"Can't talk... lost voice... somehow? How is that even possible?" Rekka snorted before continuing to read what Lexia had put. "Your eyes not brown anymore...?"

Rekka blinked, brow furrowing at the rest of the statement that read '_but red_.' But how could that be possible? Actually in more important matters -

"How'd you lose your voice?" the wild woman didn't wait for answer as her hands balled up into fists and she began to shout even more, "It was that man's fault wasn't it? I'll kill him! I'll rip off his goddamn arm and beat him half to death it!"

"What man?" Dante interrupted, eyes narrowing. This was certainly not something that had come up yet, after all. Rekka blinked turning to face Dante as Lexia cowered behind the pizza box. It was a bit of an irrational fear, at least to most, but Lexia had always been afraid of anger - even when it was justified, and seeing Rekka all worked up hadn't helped any.

"Some creepy blue-haired guy with green eyes." Rekka answered, a glare still in place on her face. "I'll kill him. I'll kill him, if he thinks he can mess with me or my people I'll show him better." Dante chuckled lowly in amusement at the woman's mumbled ramblings after her answer.

"So-"

Dante stopped as Rekka held up one finger, "One second." This came out in a much nicer tone than anything else had so far and it caught Dante and Lexia off guard as they watched as she began to root around in her messenger bag. For several minutes she did this before she finally found what she was looking for. Out came a camcorder/camera to which Rekka swiftly opened, flipping the panel around so that it faced her when she aimed the camera at herself.

It was with this device that she began to investigate their claims of having red eyes instead of brown - in lieu of an actual mirror to use.

Several seconds of silence ensued and Dante had to wonder if she really didn't know if her eyes were red or not. And what about this strange man that she had just rambled about? What part did he play in all of this?

"Okay, as bad ass as it is that I have red eyes I must question why they are now red..."

Lexia chuckled silently at her friend's under reaction to having unnatural eyes. It would be the thing she wouldn't bother freaking out over and honestly Lexia didn't know why she had expected otherwise.

"Well it looks as if you really are a demon." Dante answers drawing the women's gazes to him, both of them with looks of confusion on their faces. Lexia turned to look at Rekka, watching her reaction as she looked thoughtful for a minute.

"Cool. Makes it easier to kick that creeper's ass!" Here she pounded a fist into her other hand a cocky grin on her face as Lexia sighed. Figures she wouldn't be worried about it! Lexia sometimes wished her friend would worry more...

Dante laughed, easing up. It seemed neither of these women were against him so there wasn't any worry about a sudden attack as he had been prepared for. Besides maybe now he'd get some clues as to the mass outbreak of demon attacks as of late. These things didn't happen often without a higher reason for them...

"So tell me about this creep, why don't ya?"

"Not much to say... He was rather calm, almost always smiling... He had long blue hair pulled back in a ponytail... And he dressed in white, with these four tails attached to his pants... Though in hindsight the tails might be part of him if he's a devil..." Rekka turned to Lexia and inquired, "Did I forget anything?"

Scribbling atop the cardboard again Lexia relayed her message; _'The magic circle thingy!'_

"Oh, right. There was a type of magic circle that sent us here. We're originally from a town not a city." Rekka elaborates, pointing at Lexia's message as she did so. She deliberately left out the information that this was actually a game where they were from. It seemed the game case hadn't come with - maybe Lexia had dropped it and so there wasn't anything to prove it, anyways.

Dante 'hmmm'ed tilting his chair farther back. It really did seem like something was going on. Just why had these girls been targeted and brought to this specific city? If this man had wanted to kill them he would've just done it, not brought them to a new place to do so...

Dante's train of thought was broken as Rekka began to ruffle through the pizza boxes atop the desk, opening each one up. Each time they turned up empty and so she tossed them to the ground behind her carelessly. He laughed, "I take it your hungry, sweetheart?"

"Very." Beside her Lexia was nodding vigorously as well, her own stomach growling. Dante kicked the desk hard enough to send the phone off of it's cradle and up into the air where he caught it easily before sitting up to punch in the number of his usual choice of a pizza place.

"Show off~" taunted Rekka and Dante merely sent her a smirk before he began to talk to the person on the other line for his usual large pizza. Rekka took the time to observe the surroundings around her that made up Devil May Cry. It was rather empty but it felt fine to her...

Lexia, meanwhile, was nervous and exhausted. All she really wanted to do was sleep, but food would be nice, too. However, she couldn't stop her mind from wondering what was going to happen now that they seemed to be stuck in a game. And was it even the game itself they were stuck in or the universe itself and not any one of the games. If that was the case then not even Rekka was at an advantage with her knowledge of the games...

It made Lexia anxious, especially since she didn't know how to defend herself on top of being something of a pacifist by nature.

"The tab?" Dante inquires. "Don't worry about that! I'll pay it off soon!"

"Nah~ Having money issues, are we?" Rekka taunted lightly. Dante waved her away and she snickered at him as the man continued to try and convince the pizza joint that he would pay soon so that he may get his pizza now.

Lexia sighed. Just great; she was stuck in a place she didn't know about, lost her voice entirely, was stuck in a place with seemingly little food and a man with bad money management skills... This could only go downhill from here...

But at least Rekka seemed content enough, Lexia had to admit as she watched her friend lean against the desk and continue to poke fun at Dante's lack of money while he still continued to argue with the pizza joint.

A nervous smile spread over Lexia's lips. Well, at least she had someone she knew here who seemed to be making the best out of their situation.

Finally Dante hung up with a scoff before announcing the pizza would be delivered shortly. Once again Rekka couldn't help but taunt him; "Sounds like you suck at life~."

"Shut up."

It was here that Lexia had to wonder something and she quickly scribbled her question out on the cardboard pizza box still in hand before holding it up for Dante to read.

"Well, I guess you'll stay here." came the lax answer as he took to leaning back in his seat once again. Lexia nodded slowly, not sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, judging by the lack of furniture and funds.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely nothing.

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><p>The couches were old, the stuffing within them smashed and thin from years of use, but it was definitely better than nothing. It had been either that or sleeping on the floor or with Dante in his room... Neither of those options sounded fun in a place they hardly knew. The city's lights poured in through the large windows, casting large shadows around the shop.<p>

Every now and again Lexia would twitch, having issues with sleeping in a new place. It had always been a problem, and it didn't help that the circumstances in which they had come here in had made her even more paranoid than she normally would be. It was on nights like these, when everything was weighing on her that Lexia would find herself twitching herself awake repeatedly throughout the night. The sounds of the city life at night didn't help her either.

Rekka, meanwhile, was motionless, laying on her back with her hands folded behind her head and staring up at the ceiling. While she hadn't let herself brood about it before she was choosing now to think back on what had happened.

The man with the blue hair bothered her, for more reasons than one. Sure, she was still enraged over the fact that he had targeted her best friend - the one who was like a sister to her, but it was his overall demeanor that was bugging her. Even when all that strangeness had been going on he had obviously had something planned... but what?

Rekka restrained herself from growling as her eyes narrowed. Lexia twitched so badly from the other couch that the poor woman was in a sitting position before she was fully even awake this time. Rekka watched, snorting in amusement, as Lexia glanced around her before laying back down and snuggling into the couch to try and get to sleep once again.

Turning back to her thoughts Rekka once again had to restrain growling in frustration. _Just who is this douche and what does he want?_ she wondered not for the first, and definitely not for the last time.

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><p>A low sigh escaped the man as he paced down the broken down castle's hallways. It was their temporary hideout as of the moment, though they would soon have to move. Devil Hunters had been coming around as of late and it was growing troublesome to keep them away and conduct their plans with those nuisances around.<p>

He shook his stray bangs away from his face, running a hand through his dark hair to keep the rest of it spiked back and away from his face as he preferred. One eye was kept closed, a scar running down it and forcing many to speculate that it was sealed shut due to the scar tissue.

Not that the man minded these speculations, he didn't need to prove them right or wrong. Let the fools think what they want.

Finally the dark man stepped before the very jail of sorts he was heading for. He stood there silently, observing the jail with a hand balled up loosely at his side as his other held onto the handle of his black scythe.

A crimson barrier, faces of skulls and souls that made it up twisted in agony, despair and rage as they faded in and out of sight as it both protected and kept locked inside their prisoner. They had originally found the man battered and near death decked out in broken armor and a red gem around his neck.

The dark man and his master had seen this as the perfect opportunity to lock away and keep weakened one of the possible threats to their plans and so here he rested, still weakened to the point of being unable to escape. This, too, was a product of his and his master's magic. Arcane circles kept those within the room unable to trigger their devil abilities and thus their healing abilities were locked, incapable of being used. Every now and again the dark man would come down and use his own magic to keep the man injured, though they wouldn't be able to move him with them right away...

It was risky, but they couldn't have him healing and retaliating or running off before his new cell was prepared for him...

The dark man sighed tugging at the red boa around his neck disdainfully. He hated having kinks in the plan, they never did turn out well for the one with the plan...

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><p>Dante blinked in surprise as Rekka stepped out of his bathroom towel drying her hair and staring up at him inquisitively. No wonder he had thought he had heard water running when he had been laying in bed, unwilling to get up just yet. Most noticeably were the dark circles under her eyes, however.<p>

"You're up early, babe." Dante points out, lack of anything else to start the conversation by.

"I've been up all night~." came the lax answer, a grin on Rekka's face. It really was very obvious she hadn't gotten any sleep.

"Well, whatever, I suppose..." Dante sighs, running a hand through his hair. He still didn't know what he was going to do about the girls, at all.

A loud crashing from the main room of the shop interrupted whatever Rekka was going to say next and causing both to bolt to find out what was going on. Dante because it was his shop, whatever ended up broken he'd have to repair with money he didn't have. Rekka was running to find out what was wrong because Lexia was still in the main room.

The door slammed open as they both pushed their way into the room, Dante already reaching for Rebellion, which remained propped up at the door where he had kept it (Ebony and Ivory were already holstered, always keeping his firearms with him if not Rebellion).

Lexia was backing away from three devils, the pool table having been the thing that had been knocked over and produced the crashing. Now the pool balls were scattered all over the ground, a cue stick snapped in half along with them to add to the debris.

"Hey! You better be willing to pay for the damages!" Dante shouts angrily, pointing Rebellion at the trio of devils who all turned their glowing blue eyes to him as if curious. Demonic screeching filled the air and Lexia flinched slapping her hands over her ears.

Instead of aiming for Dante, however, as he and Rekka had expected to happen, the trio turned and made their way to Lexia once more - as if hyper focused on only her. Lexia wanted to scream, though with no voice to produced the sound it was a futile attempt as the first reared back the scythe to slash at her stomach.

Dante was quick to put a stop to this plan, having run forward and stabbing Rebellion into it's chest causing the creature to halt, shocked. Immediately it dissolved into dust and blood upon his floor as he began to bounce on the balls of his feet in anticipation.

"C'mon! What'cha got?"

More screeching as Lexia cowered, unable to do much more than stay out of the way as Dante took on the two remaining devils, their scythes and his sword clashing loudly several times over in a span of just a few minutes. Behind him he failed to see another red portal opening, shattering open to reveal another devil, which hopped out silently, this one being one of the red-colored devils with scythe in hand. These and the black-hooded skeletal ones seemed to be the most common.

Lexia was quick to gesture to it, though with Dante whooping, cheering, and taunting his opponents it went unheeded by him. This didn't mean Rekka didn't notice, however. She grabbed the first thing nearest her that was a weapon - one of the Devil Arms she had recognized the night before, one that was only obtainable through the third game, so they must have landed sometime after that particular game, she had reasoned.

The sword itself was heavy as she lifted it, holding it within both hands, the blade widening as it reached its tip and being a blue in coloring. "Well, this is certainly new." came a male voice from the end of the hilt.

"Ain't it? The name's Rekka!" And with that introduction to the talking Devil Arm Rekka lunged swinging down sloppily and wildly at the devil who's back was turned to her as it tried to inch its way around Dante to get at Lexia (now curled up in the corner between the two couches). It screeched turning to glare viciously at her as blood ran down it's back as the wound healed up quickly.

Rekka didn't give it the chance to retaliate, swinging again, this time catching it across the neck and sending it's head rolling before it was nothing but blood and dust as well. Another two portals appeared, shattering out and allowing another pair of devils into Devil May Cry.

"Wonderful!" cried out the sword again, ecstatic at being used in battle once again. It had been a long time since Rudra and his brother Agni had been used by Dante, instead collecting dust within the shop.

"What have I told you about talking?" Dante scoffs, moving to take Rekka's back, a devil trying to sneak up on the woman only to take several bullets to the head for its attempt. The sword remained silent and Dante nodded in satisfaction.

And so the fight continued for several minutes with Lexia peeking from around the couches and her fingers to satisfy her curiosity of how they were doing, despite her squeamishness. It was clear that Dante was obviously the much more experienced fighter of the two, his swings precise and backed with power even if reckless and wild. Rekka meanwhile, was having trouble with the large sword in her hands, the weight of it often throwing her off balance and it was often due to Dante saving her with a few well-aimed bullets from Ebony that kept her from being injured.

Lexia also noted that the two were a fan of using their surroundings and environment to their advantage, often kicking objects into the devils or in their way to stall and other such moves as their seemed to be no end to the multiplying demons. It was also easy to tell that they would get in each other's way, often ending with them having to hurry and dodge or block an oncoming attack as they tried to right themselves.

Finally things calmed down, the ceiling fan crashing down in the silence and causing Lexia to jump as she peered around cautiously, as if afraid another devil was merely hiding in wait for her.

It took several minutes before she did venture out from her hiding spot as Dante huffed and sat atop his desk, his fingers tapping a frustrated rhythm over Rebellion's hilt as Rekka took to placing the blue Devil Arm next to it's partner that she recognized as Agni.

It was about this time, with things settled down that Lexia labeled the two as Mr. and Miss One-Man-Show considering their performance with fighting with one another. It seemed neither was able to get 'in step' with the other and thus why the two had been tripping over one another every now and again during the fight.

"So, uh..." Rekka began, hand on hip as Dante glared around at the wreckage of Devil May Cry. "I need to go some shit! I'll be back in a bit!" And without waiting for any sort of a reply from Dante she had already swung her messenger bag about her shoulders and was gone out the double doors in search of a store to get the supplies she had in mind.

Lexia gave off another of her silent chuckles, if one had been able to hear it they would have been able to note the nervousness within it. Her heart was still hammering wildly against her chest from the events around her and her inability to fight. Not to mention she was left with a fuming Dante...

Finally he seemed to calm down enough to want to make at least some sort of a conversation with Lexia.

"So, any idea why you're the target?" he grunted, frustration still in his voice as he shot her a glance. Lexia quickly shook her head 'no.' Dante sighed and grumbled something that sounded suspiciously like 'just my luck.'

"So, what's the deal with Rekka's name?" Dante inquired instead, attempting to get his mind off of the debris around him that would somehow need repaired. Meaning he'd have to find a good job soon...

He waited patiently as Lexia scrounged up a discarded pizza box once more and the sharpie to scribble her message; _'She changed it when she moved out.'_

"Ah. Troubles at home, eh?"

Lexia nodded vigorously though didn't bother to go into detail about it. It wasn't her place to explain, after all and if Dante didn't push she wouldn't have to worry about it. It seemed Dante didn't particularly care about those problems either as he didn't ask for any elaboration, instead snorting in disdain again as his mind focused on the wreckage once more.

The door opened allowing inside a well-dressed older man who began to glance around, a brow raised at the debris around him. He had graying sandy hair, slicked back away from his face and a mustache decorated his wrinkled face. A smile stretched over his lips as he made his way further inside.

"Well, it looks like I arrived just in time, huh, Dante?"

"What do you want, Morrison?"

"Ah, a little crabby are we? As expected, I got you a good job this time."

Dante snorted again, twirling Rebellion around and causing a groove to appear on the wooden floor from the blade's tip. "Figures you'd show up now."

"I take it that's a 'yes' then? What a surprise, usually I have to bribe you."

Lexia smiled, the mood relaxing with the arrival of this Morrison character. He seemed like a nice man and it looked as if he really did want to help Dante. And at least it looked like some good would come of this mission.

* * *

><p>Rekka stared at the firearms. No surprise, in a large city like this she had run across a gun shop after picking up a sketch pad and pens for Lexia to communicate with (which had honestly been her only intent in mind but now she was distracted). Around her several men were also within the shop and another woman looking at the store's wares.<p>

The firearms that had grabbed her attention had to have been customized. The top portions of the two handguns were a brilliant crimson coloring with silver on the bottoms of the barrel - the grips were black. Along the barrel, halfway down there were what appeared to be gold staples giving the impression that the barrels were cracked.

Two gold fish skeleton charms hung from the trigger guard and from the end of the barrels a long gold chain connected the two firearms to one another.

Rekka knew she didn't have the money, at least not all at once, but she really... really wanted those handguns...

"Well hello miss, how may I help you?"

"Ah... I really want these..."

"Ah, these were custom made, though the owner never came to pick them up as they were very pricey."

"Obviously... Can I make payments?" Rekka bargained. There was no way she was letting these get away.

"Only if we can get a down payment, of course!"

"Of course..." Rekka scoffed, eyeing the man's oily hair and large smirk. He, too, wanted to make this sale, it was very obvious by the way he was asking. "Fine, how much?"

"Five hundred, dear. We can work out the payments here after the down payment is given, of course~."

"Really?" She grinned. She was in luck. She had been planning on using it for a down payment on a truck, being sold in the town she and Lexia were from, the owner having wanted a down payment while she paid off the rest of it monthly. Of course she always felt better about paying things off with cash and thus had the money with her and had been planning on doing it that day if they hadn't been sucked into a video game.

"Well, we're in luck~!"

Besides, she figured it was a better investment than a truck now that she needed something to defend herself with...


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** My co-writer and I own nothing important.

* * *

><p>Lexia blinked as something tapped her head before leaning its weight on her. Morrison glanced up to see Rekka leaning against a thick spiral bound sketch pad over Lexia's head, a set of pens in her hand as she did so.<p>

"Lookit what I got ya, Lexia," she chuckled as Lexia reached up to take the sketchpad in her hands pulling it out from under Rekka and causing Rekka to prevent herself from falling over on Lexia. Lexia grinned, turning to hold out a hand for the pens to which Rekka relinquished her hold of.

"So, you must be the other woman we've been waiting on. The name's Morrison," the graying-haired man smiles, holding out a hand for Rekka to shake.

"I'm Rekka, nice to meet you," Rekka replied, taking his proffered hand in hers for a quick shake. She had to wonder what was going on, what kind of a mission did Dante have? She did recognize Morrison from the short anime series they had made from the games, after all and knew him to be one of Dante's contacts to bringing in jobs.

She placed her hand on her hip, a large and nice looking black box tucked under her other arm, to which Dante raised a brow. "What do you have there, babe?"

Rekka grinned, "It's a surprise."

Dante scoffed rising from his seat and allowing it to settle back on it's four legs properly. He quickly grabbed his usual red coat, slipping it on swiftly and easily as he headed for the door. "You said you'd drive Morrison?"

"Right," the old man nodded, heaving himself up and digging in his pockets for his keys. Lexia was quick to hop up and grab onto Rekka's free arm and drag her after, smiling nervously as she did so. Rekka blinked curiously, confused as to why they were going as well.

Inside the small green vehicle that Morrison owned Dante had already taken the passenger seat for himself and was lounged in it lazily, eyes closed. This forced both Rekka and Lexia to take up residence in the back seats, not that either of the minded much. It was when they were out on the road for several minutes in silence before Rekka finally spoke up;

"Anyone mind explaining why I'm here?"

"Well, I was hoping Dante would take to explaining-" Morrison began, shooting the demon hunter an exasperated look. Dante merely shrugged.

"Sorry, I'd rather catch some sleep instead." He grunted as Rekka kneed the back of his seat for that answer, though he resisted turning around to shoot her a look.

"I have a mission here for Dante, a bit of a demon problem has cropped up on someone's old abandoned property."

"If it's abandoned why care?" Rekka deadpanned, raising a brow. Lexia hid an amused smile behind her new sketchpad. That had been a near perfect repetition of Dante's response to this information. Even Morrison gave an amused shake of his head before he continued.

"Originally it was just going to be Dante going, but with the knowledge that he's protecting you and you're being targeted by devils yourself it was a must you come along or leave you unprotected."

"How noble." came the dry response to which Dante ignored. Wasn't much point in retaliating if he wanted to catch at least a few minutes of sleep before starting this mission. And so the rest of the drive was made in silence, with Dante slipping off into his nap and Rekka eventually pulling out her headset to listen to music to fill the silence. Lexia took to doodling on the first blank page of the pad.

So the drive was made in this fashion with each doing their own thing as Morrison drove out of the city and into the countryside, the sky a gray overcast as if setting a mood for what was to come. It seemed much longer than it actually was before Morrison pulled to a stop on the shoulder of the road.

"We're here."

"Great... Didn't even get to finish my nap."

Morrison snorted as the trio removed themselves from the vehicle, Rekka tossing her messenger bag and headset into the backseat for safekeeping. She noticeably kept the box with her, however. Lexia tilted her head curiously at it, a brow raised. Catching the look Rekka smiled and shook her head signaling that it was a surprise of some sort.

Lexia pouted, puffing her cheeks out and gripping her sketchpad tightly in shaking hands. She didn't want to be here where there was a guarantee of demons attacking.

"C'mon..." Dante grunted making his way towards the run-down castle that was the place of supposed demonic activity on the abandoned property. He had his hands shoved into his pockets nonchalantly as he let loose another yawn on his way. Rebellion was already strapped to his back, having been the first thing he placed back onto his person after getting out of Morrison's tiny vehicle.

"Nah~, looks like Mr. Bad ass wants to be leader~," trilled Rekka mockingly before following along herself leaving Lexia to have to catch up to the two or be left behind. Unseen by them Morrison shook his head at their antics, reclining in his seat as he lit up a cigarette to wait.

Across the large expanse of lawn, towards what Lexia determined was the creepy building one would expect to see in a horror movie rather than in real life. Lexia's hands began to tremble as she clutched her tablet close to her, not wanting to enter the building. Who knew how old it was? It could crumble over their heads at any moment!

Not that her two companions seemed to care as Dante waltzed right up to the rotting wooden door and kicking it open without a moment's hesitation. The sound as it banged off of the stone walls caused Lexia to jump and Rekka to shoot him a look, her free hand on her hip.

"Way to be subtle."

"Gotta make an entrance somehow, babe," Dante cooed, strutting inside confidently and flashing the two women behind him a charming smile. Rekka chuckled while Lexia rolled her eyes, both girls strolling in after him, Rekka noticeably with more confidence in her step than Lexia had.

Leisurely Dante continued to stroll around the stone hallways with the two following after him in the dark, damp and chilly atmosphere. This continued for nearly fifteen minutes before Dante scoffed, entering a larger chamber and glaring around his surroundings disdainfully. A large table with matching ornate chairs filled the room with armory surrounding the room as the decor though they were all in a state of disrepair.

Cobwebs clung in what seemed like every nook and cranny and a heavy layer of dust coated everything. The area really was a depressing on.

"Where's all the action?" Dante scoffed, holding his arms out as if in a shrug and spinning around as he stepped further in the room as if searching for any sort of a threat to eliminate. "Don't tell me this was just a joke!"

"This is boring," Rekka yawned, eyes narrowing in distaste at the lack of action herself as she eyed her surroundings as well.

Pen scribbling on paper drew Rekka's gaze to Lexia as she quickly jotted down her thoughts on paper before holding it up for her to read; _"Am I the only one relieved of this?"_

Rekka nodded, "Yeah. Pretty much."

Lexia could only silently chuckle at how alike both Dante and her best friend were. Both seemed to be such battle maniacs. She just hopped nothing bad would arise because of that fact. Lexia was very grateful for the lack of demonic activity and hoped that it would continue to be this way.

Of course as all thing's go, things were bound to take a sudden turn. It was Murphy's Law, after all. What could go wrong, would go wrong. And so they did with several angry red portals fading into the air around them and shattering outward to reveal the twisted and gnarled bodies of devils who had been awaiting the perfect moment to strike.

"Now that's what I'm talkin' about!" Dante cried out joyously, reaching for Rebellion's hilt and bring it before him, batting away one of the smaller demons with the flattened side of the blade as he did so.

"Time to give my babies a go!" Rekka grinned ripping the box open and tugging out the contents inside, allowing the box to clatter to the floor, abandoned. Lexia had all of enough time to blink at the crimson colored firearms in her hands, connected to one another by the chain before she had to jump away from one of the devils targeting herself.

Lexia had to wonder just how Rekka had managed to get those, though didn't dwell on it for longer than a second or two, what with the events at hand. Loud bursts of sound echoed around the stone chamber as she shot off the first rounds from the firearms, nailing a few devils along their torsos and causing them to jerk.

The recoil of the firearms rocketed up Rekka's wrists painfully. She'd have to find a way to brace her wrists against the recoil at a later date for future fights.

Lexia quickly took to cowering between both Dante and Rekka, the two having moved so they were back-to-back with enough space to occupy Lexia between them and make sure the enemy could not reach her without their knowledge. Ebony was within Dante's free hand to help keep the enemy at bay so as not to stray to far from Lexia, though it wasn't usually in his style to limit himself such as this.

Dante much rather preferred to fight on instinct, though he could not do that with the two women, one of which being unarmed.

"Looks like you came prepared!" He whooped, lunging forward far enough to run several demons through with Rebellion, leaving them to crumble to dust and blood.

"Damn straight!"

Anything more that would've been said between the cocky half-devils was cut off as the armor nearest them began to shake and repair itself, the crevices glowing a ghostly blue-purple color before it began to move of its own will, taking up its sword and swinging horizontally at the trio. Dante rolled, dodging the attack successfully while the two women less than gracefully stumbled back, eyes wide in surprise as Lexia let out a soundless yelp.

Lexia's wrist was grasped within Rekka's hand after the confident woman shoved one of the firearms into her back pocket, switching the safety on with a flick of the thumb before doing so. Lexia gasped, being dragged away from another wild swing from a scythe wielding devil that had been attempting to catch them unawares from behind.

Further away from Dante they grew, dodging around more attacks aimed at them. Dante scoffed, forcing a crimson devil reminiscent to that of depictions of the Grim Reaper away, metal grinding on metal harshly as he noticed this. However, more devils had appeared in an attempt to overwhelm the small group and had crowded around Dante.

"Get out of my way!"

The demand rang out, reaching the girls' ears as they exited the chamber hurried, Rekka firing off several shots as she did so, aware of how low the ammunition in the handgun was getting with each shot. Her accuracy was severely suffering as she was moving and shooting as well. She'd have to take the time to either swap handguns or try and reload as they ran down the abandoned and moldy hallways, several devils giving chase.

The bursts from the firearm rang out deafeningly as they went, deeper into the castle, Rekka stopping every so often to shoot off another quick round, tugging Lexia behind her as she did before they took off running again. Their breathing had grown ragged by the time they reached what appeared to be a dead end, a dungeon of sorts.

"Damn," Rekka scoffed, eyes narrowing in distaste and irritation before spinning around and swapping hand guns. The one she had been using was now emptied and she had no time to reload. She'd have to rely on the ammunition in this one...

Lexia swallowed the lump in her throat as the remaining four devils that had given chase shambled inside, glaring menacingly at the two of them. "Bring it on!" Rekka scoffed as Lexia whimpered in fear. Funny, Rekka mused, she never knew mute people could still whimper.

Once again the blasts of her handgun rang out loudly, causing their ears to ring and their heads to pound - though Rekka's less so then Lexia's, having grown used to firearms before now, having gone on the shooting range every so often when she could.

The smallest of the devils as quickly taken down with a lucky shot to the skull, the body reeling back and thudding to the cement ground before dissolving to dust as the girls were becoming accustomed to seeing by now. The second devil, another of those red Grim Reaper types, had dodged around the shot aimed at it before being clipped on its leg causing it to flinch.

Lexia had to do something, however, the other two were swiftly growing closer to Rekka and she could only aim at one at a time...

Picking up a chunk of stone Lexia quickly threw it, watching in satisfaction as it bounced off of the black Grim Reaper-esque devil causing it to stop as if stunned. This allowed Rekka to dispatch it with a few well-placed rounds, leaving only two left. The two continued this, with Lexia chucking stones that she could find, and even a moldy piece of wood, to distract the two devils for Rekka to easily aim for. With this it only took but a few moments to defeat the last two.

The silence that pursued was near deafening... If they strained their ears they could make out the sounds of Dante cheering and whooping as he continued to fight off the larger onslaught of devils. The two presumed that more devils were coming and in droves or else the man would've been finished up with his own fight by now.

Lexia took this time to glance around as Rekka took the lull in fighting as a chance to reload her weapons, having to manually push the bullets into the ammunition casing one at a time. She'd have to get more ammunition casing to pre-load for things such as these... Or figure out how Dante never ran out of ammunition nor had a need to reload...

Lexia's blue gaze roved around the dim room stopping almost instantly on what was giving off a faint and eerie red glow. She hadn't noticed it with all the commotion and threat to her life when they had first run down here. Curiosity ran through her and caused Lexia to shift forward, leaning forward as she stepped closer to see just what it was cautiously.

She blinked as the form of what looked like red wall of sorts greeted her vision, faces twisted in agony, despair and rage shifting around it as if by some sort of illusion though Lexia knew better than that. She swallowed the lump in her throat as she continued to stare, taking note that the 'wall' could be seen through allowing her to see into the room behind it.

Footsteps alerted her to Rekka stepping up beside her, hand guns within her hands as she eyed the red 'wall' as what she knew it was from playing the game before this mess had happened. The two were close enough to the barrier that Rekka had to wonder if it had just been a game mechanic of some sort when the giant hand that usually grabbed Dante when he was too close in-game did not appear.

"Why's there a barrier here...?"

_Barrier?_ Lexia echoed in her head blinking past the red as she wanted to see what was being hidden behind it. She caught the glimpse of a beaten down man, a shock of silver hair tangled and grease-y from being unable to bath properly as well as his clothes being torn and bloodied showed the state of man's health alone.

Nervously Lexia reached out, fingertips ready to touch the red barrier before she jerked back as a dry voice sounded out from the man behind the barrier; "Don't touch that."

Both girls tensed, Lexia jumped back and behind Rekka in worry as the man shifted, lifting his head just high enough to glare at the two. Rekka could only blink, eyes wide as she recognized the man as Dante's twin brother.


End file.
